The Faith 21 Review That Isn’t

I know you must all have heard and seen the new Faith 21 range but I just have to comment. What do you all think of it? Of course, being in England I haven’t had a chance to browse around the store so I can only comment on whats available online and from what I can see, its OK. Just OKAY though. At a push.

Theres nothing there to make me swoon or even look twice, in fact, I think its pretty run of the mill. At the very least there is consistency between the main F21 line and Faith 21 (unlike the BiB range for H&M which is NOTHING like the main line), but they don’t seem to have chosen the best items from the main line to develop. Prices are good so I can’t say anything against those but what is up with the size chart?

When I first heard that F21 where launching a plus range I was excited about it but I remember saying something like, “I hope they don’t just do the range in sizes 16-20.” Well, that was somewhat optimistic of me because after viewing their size chart it appears that the Faith 21 line doesn’t even go up to a US 18 yet alone a size 20. It’s available in US size 11/12, 13/14, 15/16 which in UK sizes means that the range is available roughly in sizes 14, 16, 18. HUH?????? UK 14 and 16 are standard sizes to the majority of retailers so I can’t help but wonder why Forever 21 weren’t doing these sizes before. Their clothes must be extra teeny tiny.

Anyhow. My review isn’t really a review at all as I’ve not seen and touched the clothing for myself. If you want to read a real review visit The Musings of a Fatshionista blog.

15 Comments on “The Faith 21 Review That Isn’t”

Thats exactly what it is. I had pretty high hopes for this line despite previously hearing rumours that the sizing would only go up to a junior 2XL. I had hoped they were wrong. To call Faith 21 a plus size line is a complete joke and just demonstrates AGAIN that mainstream fashion wants nothing to do with fat people.

I love the line! I wear a size 18 jeans normally and the 2x fits perfect and sometimes too big in some cases. I’m sure all of the outfits fit differently though so I’m sure having a store where you could try things on before you bought them would help. I also think that most of the clothes are really cute, but they sell out fast on the website.

I thought it was a little unfair to stick to the more In-Betweenie range of plus sizes. F21 is definitely catering to just that In-Betweenies like myself. Even still their sizes are cut for a a narrower figure — Almost as if they just pulled the ol’ Nesting Egg with their other sizes which seem to fall in line with LA’s narrower waif-type of woman.
Many of the items are too big for my waist, personally, but meager in the bust and hip areas and only squeak by.

I can’t really call this a decent plus size line either. But its definitely a go-to for In-Betweenies. From my retail experience, their 15/16 is actually larger than most 16/18’s I come across when I go shopping, and its a hell of a lot cheaper than stopping in at Torrid, who’s clearance prices are sometimes higher than the regular prices of F21’s. Hopefully they’ll expand once they realize the demand

Co-sign, this made me a little upset also because I never wanted anything to do with Forever 21 because of the tiny little strings they sell however, I was eager to see why the plus size line was about and became angered and disappointed also. It seems like they did this just to shut up the plus size people.

I think that faith 21 is a good line. i think plus size and fat are two different things. faith 21 is a plus line, which to means bigger, but not huge. most of what they sell wouldnt look that good on people much bigger. I wear the XL shirts and 16 in pants and it fits perfectly on me and looks good. i honestly like the way i look, and i dont think i need to lose weight, but anything bigger then a 18 is simply fat. and not much looks good on fat. thats just the way it is. im not saying you need to be a size 2 but a size 22 is just fat. dont blame the line. they dont want their clothes on people who wouldnt look good in it.

Regarding your comment about “most of what they sell wouldn’t look good on people much bigger” – What do you think people who are much bigger should wear? I have had a quick look at the site today and I can’t see anything in the Faith 21 line (or were you making a comparison with the Forever 21 line?) that someone bigger than a 16 wouldn’t be able to wear. Sure there are some shorts and mini skirts (were these what you were talking about specifically?) but its about having the options to be able to make a choice. Not everyone wants to wear shorts and I don’t personally but if I did decide I wanted to buy a pair why should that option not be there?
“Not much looks good on fat. thats just the way it is”- The point of doing a plus size line is to create clothes that will look good on fat. You can’t just simply size up a size 8 garment and expect it to look great in a 22, it has to be cut to fit a bigger body so I completely disagree with this comment- there is plenty that “looks good on fat” and anyone who is thinking about doing a plus size line should be well prepared to do their research and find out what people want and need.

If you’re a size 16 then according to your judgements you’re just a mere 1-2 sizes away from what you call “fat”…what a fine line M. you better watch out because in 10 pounds you could not fit in this so called “plus line”! I agree with Deena and say to you, what are you on, it is supposed to be a “plus” line and 11/12 is not normally considered plus fyi so to call this line plus with this size chart is redefining the norm of plus and only limiting the amount of people it serves, but just because you and I fit doesn’t mean that you should feel great about this exclusivity (again, because let’s say you go up 1- 2 sizes, you are out of the Faith 21 club deary! and too fat to wear pretty clothes according to your philosophy.) That’s like someone that’s a normal size 12 person that fits in a regular store’s clothes saying that you are fat and you shouldn’t wear those clothes because you don’t fit in them….how does that make you feel? When they exclude your size 16 from their line of sizes? Not so nice. It’s all relative you freaking dope.

To reiterate, people with size 16 butts shouldn’t throw stones at those with size 18 butts, an onlooker would consider both “plus” and “chunky” so welcome to the club, fellow chub (in denial!)

My problem with it is that the models look so bored and hate it. I don’t think the clothes are fantastic I like Torid better, but the people should look as happy as the regular models not depressed. Also some of the designs for the clothes are just hitting bad on plus size women… the shorts need to hit a bit longer or short to make the legs look longer not shorter.

I came across this site trying to find exactly these types of comments. I just looked at the Faith21 line and wanted to know what other people thought. I agree that most of the Faith21 line isn’t suited to either plus-sized OR ‘fat’ people. For ex. skinny jeans barely look good on a size 2, let alone anything above a 12. Also, wet look leggings in silver will show up every bit of cellulite. There is nothing wrong with being plus sized, but certain things suit bigger people better – bootcut jeans, structured tops, longer shorts with cuffs, a-line skirts, 3/4 sleeve tops, wrap dresses, longline jackets…. they seem to just sell everything that looks horrible on bigger people. If I had the start-up capital, I’d be inclined to start a label properly designed for plus size.

I am just upset that they don’t have more of the fashion selection that they do in the regular sized line. Plus sized people don’t necessarily look better in 3/4 length or A-line. I know for me personally, A-line looks awful. Wish they would work off their normal offerings a bit more, I’m so tired of seeing flowing floral-printed tops and wrap dresses in plus selections, I want cute club dresses. It’s so hard to pick through the plus selection out there for things that aren’t super baggy and shapeless with large, awful prints and just frumpy all together.